Duel Autocare
Barrel
Wheel Shampoo
Size
Barrel is our dedicated wheel shampoo, a wheel wash done properly, with no harsh acids or caustics. Add a dose to your wash bucket, or an IK foam sprayer, and it lifts brake dust and road grime off every wheel finish, from painted and powder-coated to polished and satin alloys. It's the safe, regular maintenance wash for your wheels: tough on grime, kind to your finishes, and far gentler than the aggressive acidic cleaners it replaces.
At A Glance
Why You'll Love It
No harsh acids, no caustics, just a mildly alkaline shampoo that lifts brake dust and road grime and rinses it away. It's built for regular washing, not a one-off aggressive strip, so you can reach for it every time.
With no acids to etch alloys or strip coatings, Barrel is safe across painted, powder-coated, lacquered, polished and satin wheels, so one bottle does the whole set, whatever they're finished in.
Far kinder in the wash bucket than the aggressive acidic and caustic wheel cleaners many brands sell. It is still a concentrate classified for safe handling, so wear eye protection and read the safety panel below.
Use it your way: a dose in the wash bucket with a dedicated wheel mitt, or through an IK foam sprayer for quick light-maintenance cleans between washes.
What Does Barrel Actually Do?
Wheels get the worst of it. Brake dust is hot, iron-rich grit that bakes onto the finish, and it arrives mixed with road grime and salt. To shift it, a lot of wheel cleaners go in hard with strong acids or caustics, and used often, those can etch alloys, dull a polished lip and stress the coating or lacquer that is protecting the wheel.
Barrel takes the shampoo approach instead. Its surfactants, the ingredients that grab and hold dirt, lift brake dust and grime off the surface and suspend them in the suds so they rinse away, with no acids or caustics involved. Used in the bucket with a wheel mitt or brush, or through a foam sprayer, it cleans by lifting and encapsulating the dirt rather than aggressively dissolving the wheel along with it.
That makes Barrel the regular maintenance wash for your wheels, the one you use every time, keeping brake dust from building up so you rarely need to reach for anything harsher. For heavily soiled or neglected wheels, step up to Axis, our acid-free wheel cleaner; for routine upkeep, Barrel keeps them clean with their finishes intact.
Is It Right For You?
- Regular, safe maintenance washing of your wheels
- Anyone with painted, powder-coated, polished or satin alloys to protect
- Drivers who want to keep brake dust down without reaching for harsh acids
- Two-bucket washers who want a dedicated wheel shampoo, separate from their paint kit
- Light to moderate soiling and upkeep between deeper cleans
- The wheels are heavily soiled or have baked-on brake dust, Axis is the acid-free wheel cleaner for that
- You're removing bonded iron fallout, Toxin dissolves it
- You're washing the bodywork, Bahama Blue is the shampoo made for paint
- Painted, powder-coated and lacquered alloys
- Polished and satin finishes
- Rubber and plastic wheel trims
- Bare or unsealed metal
- Letting it dry on the surface
- Hot wheels or direct sunlight
How To Use Barrel
Pressure-rinse each wheel to flush off loose grit and grime before you make contact, so you're washing rather than grinding.
Add 30ml of Barrel to a bucket of water, or 50ml to an IK foam sprayer (see the mixing guide below). Wear gloves and eye protection when handling the concentrate.
Work around the face, barrel and spokes with a dedicated wheel mitt or brush, kept separate from your bodywork kit to keep brake-dust grit away from your paint.
Keep the wheel wet while you work, and do one wheel at a time in warm weather or direct sun so the shampoo doesn't dry on.
Rinse each wheel until the water runs clear, then dry to avoid spotting. Finish the tyres with Profile for the complete look.
Dilution
One simple dose into a bucket of water is all it takes for a wheel wash, so there's no ratio to work out, or add 50ml to an IK foam sprayer for light maintenance. Keep the surface wet, don't let it dry, and rinse thoroughly. For more on how dilution ratios work, read our dilution ratios guide.
H318 — Causes serious eye damage.H315 — Causes skin irritation.P101 — If medical advice is needed, have product container or label at hand.P102 — Keep out of reach of children.P264 — Wash thoroughly after handling.P280 — Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/protective footwear.P302+P352 — IF ON SKIN: Wash with plenty of soap and water.P305+P351+P338 — IF IN EYES: Rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. Remove contact lenses, if present and easy to do. Continue rinsing.P310 — Immediately call a POISON CENTER/doctor.P501 — Dispose of the contents and/or its container using the separate collection system in your municipality.| Product type | Wheel Shampoo |
|---|---|
| Format | Concentrate (bucket-dosed) |
| Sizes | 500ml · 1 Litre · 5 Litre |
| Application | Wash bucket or IK foam sprayer |
| Dilution | 30ml per wheel bucket · 50ml per IK foam sprayer |
| Rinse required | Yes |
| Scent | Lime (citric) |
| Suitable for | All wheel finishes: painted, powder-coated, lacquered, polished, satin |
| pH | Alkaline · pH 8.5 to 9.5 |
| Physical state / colour | Transparent liquid · Green |
| Storage | Store at 5 to 30 °C. Maximum storage time 6 months. |
| Transport classification | Not regulated (ADR/RID, IMDG, IATA) |